There's a new cinema coming to Kinshasa, or so the billboards around town seem to be announcing. Something like a drive-in, though without the car. "Everyone outside," the announcement demands. "Come enjoy the movies in the fresh air." Sounds like another good move for Kinshasa (and whoever is funding the business.)
It's another kind of outdoor calling that has me perplexed though. Apparently a new plan is in place for dealing with the Kuluna- Kinshasa's notorious machete wielding street gang that terrorizes whomever they want, stealing money, wares and killing randomly. It has become such a problem that residents of some neighborhoods are afraid to go out after 11pm or before 5 am. For some workers, this makes getting to their jobs on time difficult. Women who collect bread at several of the city's bakery outlets usually like to get there around 3 am. The decision between making a living and remaining safe has become a daily struggle.
The reaction from many locals is positive. Everyone seems to have a story of witnessing, just passing or knowing someone who has been murdered or victimized by the gangs. They take on a legendary status. A woman pregnant with twins, slashed across the neck, her babies cut out. Another woman seen by someone on the way to a friend's house....her corpse visible on the roadside upon the return. Kids menaced, shopkeepers looted, women selling fruits and vegetable losing their daily profits. The solution seems to be justice- or judgement- immediately. Anyone found in the act of a crime is immediately killed. In front of everyone -in order to send the proper message.
Saturday night we visited a place we like to go often, have a drink and watch the people coming and going. This particular evening, things seems so much more lively and full. People were everywhere. "You see," one of the men at the table said, waving his arm across the populated street front. "People are no longer afraid. They've been liberated."
Hmmm. Because of my presence, discussion ensued about the "justice" of it all. I worked hard not to be misinterpreted. I worked hard to try understand their perspective. "It's the African system," they said, referring to violence and force needed to bring about change. "If parents don't bring up their children right or can no longer control them, someone needs to do something. This is right. This is good." They felt it without a doubt.
I wasn't necessarily agreeing or disagreeing with the method, but posed several questions. What if it was your child who was in the wrong place at the wrong time..somehow mistakenly getting included in the Kuluna gang? What if it was you? Tempers rise and anger is rarely a clear lens with which to remember what you've seen. What if the victim was somehow mistaken for being an accomplice?
But mostly, I tried to bring up the underlying causes. My real reaction was not about the current plan, but how to prevent more kuluna from springing up. What drives someone to become that kind of person in the first place? I was thinking of basic human needs and the purposes of government- two topics we are currently studying in my classes. The government does have a responsibility to create livable conditions for its citizens. Or so I believe. And I argued that it is the absence of these conditions- water, electricity, food, education, a viable future- that leads to desperation. Which is what drives people to commit such acts. Or so I theorized.
Not to be confused with making excuses. Merely pointing out the need for the government to attack the problem on many different levels. In order to prevent a resurgence, or a morphing, it seems vital that basic human needs be addressed. And I remain stumped by the people's pleasure at such extreme measures all the while never recognizing how it came to be in the first place. Who allowed the gangs to grow to such proportions and hold such power?
There's no easy answer. "Beaucoup de securitie maintent," as one man put it- lots of security- at night- surely is a step in the right direction. There are many who would argue that out and out murder solves the problem of taxing a crumbling prison system. This article, from February 2013, reveals a lot about the various perspectives- governments, police, kuluna themselves. Adding to the complexities is the number of politicians and businessmen who employed the kuluna for their services as body guards and protectors during the elections. The police who find it difficult to give chase on foot and in the hot Kinshasa sun and a justice system which doesn't keep them in jail for long. This disturbing, shaky video captures rival gangs in a rain battle.
Kinshasa is not the only city to grapple with gangs. The US has a fairly entrenched gang system in place, both in the prisons and on the streets. Solutions are long and costly. They require investment, knowledge, support of the people. And alternatives. This paper outlines a number of strategies tried in programs across the US. And there is infinite material available on the web discussing causes, preventions, reactions, and responsibilities of the actors involved (families, communities, schools, police, etc.)
This interesting quote "A gang is only as strong as a community allows it to be" comes from this site by Mike Carlie. It brings to light the importance of considering all aspects involved and looking at the changing face of society. In America.
It stands to reason each country would need to examine their own underlying causes and moral influences. Family and community play an important role in demanding programs and assistance for the problems developing in their neighborhoods. I don't have those kinds of connections...that would alert me to the actions of communities. Have they united and raised their voices as one? Have they called on the government to take action and save their children? Where do they turn for safety and security? How do they make their concerns heard?
There are so many levels to this need- education being at the base I think. Knowing that there are solutions other than direct murder. Knowing that there needs to be additional research, support, programs, and options. DRC is a huge country. Dealing with war and violence in the east seems to overtake the focus, leaving problems like those in Kinsahsa's quarters left hanging. I'm not sure how many, if any, NGO's or other development programs have a branch aimed at reducing gang violence. My initial search turned up only this link from the US Embassy referring to the eastern region of the country. Other searches refer to centers for street kids. Equally important in their urgency, but neither really addressing the unique problem of gangs.
